Category: News Archive

The ACT Government recently released a guide for how to integrate climate-wise landscape design principles in new developments. It is intended to assist in the planning and design of climate resilient landscapes, including merging green landscapes with urban structures where possible and maximising trees and plants on the block. The guide is worth reading for anyone interested in the principles of climate resilient planning, but it’s another question entirely as to whether these principles can be integrated into new developments. A recent article by The RiotACT’s Ian Bushnell on a new dual occupancy development in Torrens highlights this tension, describing a

One of the novel aspects of debates about local planning laws and regulations is how technical and complex the rules are, requiring one to have an incredibly strong grasp of the Territory Plan, of ‘development codes’, ‘zone objectives,’ what is or is not permitted in particular zones, and the roles of different government agencies. Yet despite their opacity, these rules have fundamental implications for our streets and suburbs. They shape where we live and how we navigate our city, and yet it often feels like one must need tertiary qualifications in planning to understand them. In the past month, this

The federal election campaign is in full swing, as evidenced by the corflutes dotted around North Canberra’s roads and front gardens. What makes this election different however is the wide range of candidates who are genuine contenders to represent North Canberra at a federal level. While many of the issues often raised by the North Canberra community generally fall under the jurisdiction of the ACT Government, we have been tracking the North Canberra-specific announcements by the federal candidates. A (non-exhaustive) list of such election commitments from the major candidates is detailed below. Labor has recently pledged $5 million for cycle

While the phrase ‘urban renewal’ is often used to characterise the pace of development in North Canberra in recent years, the phrase feels particularly jarring when considering social housing tenants who have lived in North Canberra for decades who now found themselves facing a forced relocation away from their homes. As reported by the Canberra Times, hundreds of inner north ACT housing tenants have been served with eviction notices to facilitate the ACT Government’s ‘Growth and Renewal Program’. Last week, we released a statement requesting the ACT Government reconsider its decision to evict the tenants. Our statement also called for any

It has been anything but a typical quiet summer for North Canberra – from the peak of the Omicron wave and the return of Summernats in January to the more recent phenomena of the thousands anti-vax protesters based at Exhibition Park, near Watson. Despite their claims of coming here to confront the elite establishment, it often seemed they were more preoccupied with harassing retail staff across the local shopping centres and IGAs. It was also a momentous start to 2022 in local development news, with the bulldozers moving into the foot of Mount Ainslie at the old CSIRO site near

We have reached the end of another busy year and the NCCC would like to thank all members who have contributed their time and labour across a vast range of issues in ACT planning policy and development proposals over the past twelve months. 2022 is likely to be just as busy with major development applications expected to be lodged across North Canberra and broader planning processes, such as ACT Planning System Review, to be finalised. We hope all NCCC members can take a well-deserved break over the holiday period and we look forward to touching base again in the new

The NCCC Committee has been undertaking preparations for the Annual General Meeting, which is scheduled to be held on Wednesday 17 November. In addition to the election of the new office bearers and NCCC Committee, the AGM will include a discussion on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the NCCC over the medium term, and a discussion regarding the Ainslie Football Club’s development plans. The 2021 AGM agenda can be accessed here. Anyone who may be interested in nominating for election to the Committee can find out more detail on the nomination process as specified in the NCCC Constitution (see paragraphs

September newsletter is now out and contains articles on the Canberra Technology park, YMCA planning approval, registering a tree and other local news and updates.